Employers' organizations reject unions' requests and threaten with sanctions

Employers approve of the Government's initiative to redistribute the contribution to social insurance among the employer and employee, rejecting the demands of unions in this regard, the National Confederation of Employers' Organizations of Moldova (CNPM) said in a statement. As the unions are planning to stage a protest outside the Parliament building today in support of their demands, the employers' representatives are threatening with sanctions in turn. “The CNPM board expresses its concern with the situation that emerged around the adoption by Parliament of the 2013 State Social Insurance Budget, in particular the process of redistributing the contribution among employers and employees. The Law stipulates this action through the provision of Law no. 489-XIV of 08.07.1999 on the public system of social insurances, which says that the general contribution payment is to be divided among employers and employees , at a ratio of 2/3 and 1/3 respectively; an initiative, in fact, understood and approved by the Government”, reads the statement. The business sector welcomes this change, as it “evens out other recent initiatives that increase the fiscal burden on businesses. Among these initiatives are: the employers' responsibility to pay 5 days of sick leave, the re-instatement of the income tax, the harshening of sanctions for violations, and others.”. The CNPM, on behalf of its members and the business sector as a whole, urges the MPs and political parties “not to cave in under the unions' pressure and put the Budget's revenues at risk. Therefore, if the unions do not respect the aforementioned legal provision, why would the employers further respect the obligation to collect the union membership fees?” With a view to promoting the interests of the business sector, the CNPM reserves itself the right to undertake the following measures: suspend its participation in the National Commission for Collective Negotiations; suspend any negotiation on the increase in the minimum guaranteed salary in the real sector; and seek the support of international institutions. The Government proposes an increase in the employees' contribution rate by one percentage point to 7%, on account of decreasing the employers' contribution from 23% to 22%. The National Confederation of Unions of Moldova announced it would organize protests unless the proposal is reversed.